A blind Fargo man will have to wait awhile longer for his chance to see again.
Andrew Diederick was supposed to have a cornea transplant Monday morning at Cincinnati Hospital.
The ophthalmologist, Dr. Edward Holland, inspected the eye before surgery, lifting up a corner of the cornea. He found the sclera -- the white of the eye -- was in good condition, Diederick said.
But Holland also found about 40 percent of the stem cells that were transplanted onto the eye a year ago weren't as healthy as he'd prefer, Diederick said.
"He said the cornea transplant would have worked if he would have done it today, but it would only have given me vision in the short term, and that's not what he's out for," Diederick said from his hotel room after the hour-long surgery. "He's out for vision in the long term."
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Instead, Holland conducted a second stem-cell transplant.
"He had them on hand, just in case," Diederick said.
Diederick lost all vision in his right eye after a chemical accident in August 2001. His left eye sees only red, green and blue.
A successful cornea transplant would allow him to see shapes as clearly as the big "E" on an eye doctor's chart.
The cornea transplant will probably be in four to six weeks, he said.
While the setback was disappointing, "I understand why he wanted to do it the way he did," Diederick said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
